Managing services associated with URL-based two-dimensional codes

ABSTRACT

Implementations of the present disclosure provide a service processing method, device, and system associated with unified resource locator (URL)-based two-dimensional (code). In an implementation, a URL is received from a first service institution. The URL is obtained by a mobile device from scanning a 2D code provided by a service provider and sent to the first service institution. The URL is then parsed to identify one or more data elements including a service network identifier, a service institution identifier, and a payload including a service object identifier. The one or more data elements is sent to the second service institution based on the service institution identifier. Service information associated with the service object is received from the second service institution based on the service object identifier, and the service information is sent to the first service institution for presenting on the mobile device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of PCT Application No.PCT/CN2018/093696, filed on Jun. 29, 2018, which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the field of mobile transactionprocessing.

BACKGROUND

Machine-readable codes (hereinafter “codes”) are used to encodeinformation in a particular visual format that may be read by anelectronic device to extract the encoded information. Such codes may bephysically printed on a surface (such as product packaging) or displayedon a screen of an electronic device (such as a mobile phone). Examplecodes include barcodes and Quick Response (QR) codes.

Early codes were one-dimensional (1D) in that information was encoded inonly one spatial dimension. For example, a standard barcode is a 1D codebecause the encoding symbols (the bars) modulate only on the horizontalaxis of the code. The code is meant to be read on this horizontal axisto retrieve the encoded information, and no information is encoded bymodulating the symbols on the vertical axis.

Two-dimensional (2D) codes, in which symbols are modulated on both thevertical and horizontal axes, were first used in the fields ofmanufacturing and transportation. QR codes are an example of a 2D code.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes methods and systems, includingcomputer-implemented methods, computer program products, and computersystems for managing services associated with uniform resource locator(URL)-based 2D codes.

In an implementation, a URL is received from a first serviceinstitution, wherein the URL is sent by a mobile device and obtained bythe mobile device from scanning a two-dimensional (2D) code provided bya service provider. The URL is parsed to identify one or more dataelements including a service network identifier corresponding to aservice network, a service institution identifier corresponding to asecond service institution that issued the 2D code, and a payloadincluding a service object identifier corresponding to a service objectof the service network. The one or more data elements is sent to thesecond service institution based on the service institution identifier.The service information associated with the service object is receivedfrom the second service institution based on the service objectidentifier, and the service information is sent to the first serviceinstitution for presenting on the mobile device.

Implementations of the described subject matter, including thepreviously described implementation, can be implemented using acomputer-implemented method; a non-transitory, computer-readable mediumstoring computer-readable instructions to perform thecomputer-implemented method; and a computer-implemented systemcomprising one or more computer memory devices interoperably coupledwith one or more computers and having tangible, non-transitory,machine-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more computers, perform the computer-implemented method/thecomputer-readable instructions stored on the non-transitory,computer-readable medium.

The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented inparticular implementations, so as to realize one or more of thefollowing advantages. First, by issuing a temporary trusted login token,a first server can use a service authorization to provide limited accessfrom an originating application to a service page of a targetapplication without performing additional login steps. Second, thelimited access allowed by the service authorization can protectunauthorized service pages from being accessed using trusted login,which improves data security. Third, by returning service pages to theoriginating application after a trusted login, a trusted user does notneed to be redirected to the target application to perform the service,improving the user's experience.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter of thisspecification are set forth in the Detailed Description, the Claims, andthe accompanying drawings. Other features, aspects, and advantages ofthe subject matter will become apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art from the Detailed Description, the Claims, and the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a serviceprocessing workflow of a digital service system, according to animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating examples of URL-based 2D codesgenerated based on a slim terminal model, according to an implementationof the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the “stickonce” concept based on a slim terminal model, according to animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example ofinteroperability of services with URL-based 2D code, according to animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a swim-lane diagram illustrating an example of a 2D codebinding procedure, according to an implementation of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow illustrating an example of a method of processingservices based on URL-based 2D code, according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

With the development of mobile Internet, 2D codes are becoming morewidely used in various service scenarios due to the fast and accuratescanning and decoding capabilities of smartphones. As more and moreonline to offline (O2O) platforms emerge, users are able scan 2D codesto access various services such as online ordering, payment, and producttracking. The wide use of 2D codes has in turn greatly facilitated theO2O integration process. In many cases, 2D codes deployed by serviceproviders are not merely information bearers, but interaction medium forservice initiation, processing and information exchange.

Merchant-presented 2D codes are often used in mobile payment. Commonlyused merchant-presented 2D codes can include merchant codes, ordercodes, interoperability codes, or aggregation codes. To unify users'mobile payment experience, reduce 2D code deployment cost, andstandardize the mobile payment market, regulatory authorities in somecountries (or regions) have established their own regional unified 2Dcode standards governing the format of these 2D codes. However,different merchants may use different payment institutions or serviceplatforms to collect payment or provide backend services.Correspondingly, merchant-presented 2D codes may be associated with orissued by different service institutions. As a result, management of the2D code service processing can be complicated and can lack uniformity.

The present disclosure describes a method for managing servicesassociated with uniform resource locator (URL)-based 2D codes, and ispresented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use thedisclosed subject matter in the context of one or more particularimplementations. Various modifications, alterations, and permutations ofthe disclosed implementations can be made and will be readily apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principlesdefined can be applied to other implementations and applications,without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In someinstances, one or more technical details that are unnecessary to obtainan understanding of the described subject matter and that are within theskill of one of ordinary skill in the art may be omitted so as to notobscure one or more described implementations. The present disclosure isnot intended to be limited to the described or illustratedimplementations, but to be accorded the widest scope consistent with thedescribed principles and features.

A user can use a mobile device to scan a 2D code to obtain correspondingservice information for initiating a service. Instead of embedding theservice information in the 2D code, a 2D code can be generated based ona slim terminal model (STM) that carries a URL. The URL can be used toidentify a data interface associated with the service information. Byscanning the 2D code, a mobile device can obtain the embedded URL andforward it to a backend service system. A digital service network in thebackend service system can perform the role of a central hub formanaging and facilitate services across different service institutionsor platforms. The digital service network can identify the serviceinstitution that manages or maintains the service information based ondata elements included in the URL. The backend service system can thenretrieve the service information and return it to the mobile device forinitiating the service. Because the 2D code does not carry serviceinformation, it can be scanned and parsed more quickly. When serviceinformation needs an update, the update can be performed by the serviceinstitution at the backend instead of updating the frontend 2D codeitself. Service processing can be efficiently coordinated by the digitalservice network regardless of how many service institutions are involve.As such, 2D code-based service processing can be more efficiently andsecurely performed. Various implementations and technical effectsaccording to the present disclosure are discussed in the descriptionbelow.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a serviceprocessing workflow of a digital service system 100, according to animplementation of the present disclosure. At a high-level, the digitalservice system 100 can include a user side 102 and an acquiring side104. The user side 102 can include a frontend application (APP) 106installed on a mobile device and a backend user side service institution110. The acquiring side 104 can include a service provider, such as amerchant 108 and an acquiring side service institution 114. In someimplementations, the service institutions of the user side 102 and theacquiring side 104 can be interconnected by a digital service network112 or a central transfer platform (CTP). It is to be understood thatthe digital service network 112 can serve a plurality of serviceinstitutions on the user side and a plurality of service institutions onthe merchant side. The services facilitated by the service institutions110, 114 and the digital service network 112 can be any suitableservices such as payment services, Internet-of-things (JOT) information,location-based services (LBS), content services, or APP installationservices. For example, if the service is a payment service, the APP 106can be a digital payment APP, the user side service institution 110 andthe acquiring side service institution 114 can be user side paymentinstitution and service side institution, and the digital paymentnetwork 112 can be a digital payment network. The service processingworkflow of the digital service system 100 can be described through theillustration of the following example.

At 116, a merchant-presented URL-based 2D code is scanned by using amobile APP 106 installed on a mobile device. The URL-based 2D code canbe in the form of any two-dimensional code such as a QR code. Dependingon specific application scenarios, the URL-based 2D code can be deployedas a merchant code, an order code, an interoperability code, aregionally unified code, or other type of code. These codes areexplained in greater detail below.

The URL-based 2D code can be generated based on an STM. The STM refersto a user-merchant interaction scenario in which a small amount ofinformation is exchanged during the interaction. When using an STM, theservice information collection is not limited to the data interactionperiod from scanning the merchant-presented 2D code, since a relativelysmall amount of information is encoded to the 2D code. This is incontrast to a rich terminal model (RTM) where most service informationfor processing a service is encoded to the 2D code. Because a smallportion of service information is obtained by scanning the STM 2D code,majority of service information acquisition can be performed by abackend server. As such, the main party involved in performing theservice is the user associated with the service APP 106 that scans the2D code, regardless of how may service platforms or institutions theaccount is associated with. Because a relatively small amount ofinformation is encoded in the 2D code, the majority of serviceinformation collection can be delegated to the backend server, leadingto faster data interaction between the APP 106 and the 2D code, and morerobust data security due to less information exposure at the frontend.Moreover, since the majority of the service information can be managedand maintained at the backend, when service information needs to beupdated, the merchant 108 may not need to request and re-deploy a new 2Dcode as under the STM scenario. In some cases, such an update can bemade at the backend to reduce the deployment and material cost ofre-deploying new 2D codes.

In some implementations, the 2D code generated based on the STM can havean information format of a URL. Table 1 illustrates example dataelements of a URL encoded in the 2D code. It is to be understood that aURL according to the present disclosure can include only a portion ofthe data elements listed below or additional data elements.

TABLE 1 <Protocol Header>://<Domain Name>/<Network ID>/<VersionID>/<Seryice Type ID>/<Service Institution ID>/<Payload>[?Parameter1=Value1&Parameter 2=Value2& . . .]

As shown in Table 1, the data elements of a URL include “protocolheader”, “domain name,” “network ID,” “version ID,” “service type ID,”“service institution ID,” “payload,” and one or more parameters. Thesedata elements can be either expressed in a text-form or a digital form.The “protocol header” can indicate the protocol used for datacommunication. For example, the “protocol header” can be “https” ifHypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the data communicationsprotocol associated with the URL. In some implementations, the domainname can be applied for and managed by operators of the digital servicenetwork 112. For example, a domain name can be expressed in a text formas “qr.demodigitalnetwork.com.” The network ID can identify the digitalservice network used to manage or facilitate the service. The network IDcan have different lengths. For examples, a network ID in a text formcan be expressed as “demodigitalnetwork,” a network ID expressed in adigital form can take an integer value between 25 and 30. The version IDcan have different lengths. It can be defined by the digital servicenetwork 112 to identify the version number of the digital servicenetwork 112. For example, a version ID can be expressed in a text formas “v2” to identify the digital service network 112 used in the secondversion.

The service type ID can identify applicable services associated with theURL-based 2D code. Table 2 illustrates example services and theircorresponding URL expressions in text and digital forms.

TABLE 2 Digital Text Form Form Description Service fund_transfer 01Transfer Account Transfer by Scanning 2D Code order_qr_payment 04 OrderMake Payment by Code Scanning Order Code merchant_qr_payment 05 MerchantCollect Payment by Code Scanning Merchant Code group_qr 06 Group Scan 2DCode to Code Join Social Media Group

Service institution ID can identify an acquiring side 104 serviceinstitution 114 that acquires service for the merchant 108. For example,if the service is a payment service, the service institution ID canidentify the payment institution 114 that collects payment for themerchant 108. In some implementations, the URL-based 2D code can beissued by the service institution 114 identified by the serviceinstitution ID. For examples, a service institution ID in a text formcan be expressed as “demopaymentinstitution,” a network ID expressed ina digital form can take an integer value between 001 and 999. In someimplementations, the service institution ID can be set as “default” or anull value (for example, “000”) to indicate that a default serviceinstitution or no service institution is designated.

The payload can include an identifier that identifies a service objectof the digital service network 112. The service object can be aninterface used to link service information managed and maintained by theacquiring side service institution 114. In some implementations, serviceinformation can include merchant information such as a merchant name, amerchant type, a country code or a zip code of the merchant, a merchantaddress, one or more supported languages, and one or more supportedcurrencies. In some implementations, service information can alsoinclude order information or transaction information such as an orderamount, supported currency, order ID, order or transaction descriptions.It can be understood that service information can include otherinformation related to performing the service.

Parameters can identify one or more add-on services provided by thebackend server of the acquiring side service institution 114. Theparameters can be in the format of key-value pairs. The add-on servicecan include, but not limited to, additional order information, salesinformation, or other information such as one or more loyalty numbers,digital voucher information, coupon information, lucky drawinginformation, global positioning system (GPS) location, table number, aseat number, etc.

As such, an example URL in a text format encoded in a 2D code accordingto the present disclosure can be expressed as:

https://qr.demodigitalnetwork.com/demodigitalnetwork/v2/merchant_qr_payment/demopaymentinstitution/012345678901234

An example URL in a digital format encoded in a 2D code according to thepresent disclosure can be expressed as:

https://qr.demodigitalnetwork.com/28/2/05/001/012345678901234

Corresponding visual depictions of example URL based 2D codes are shownin FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating examples of URL-based 2Dcodes 200 generated based on an STM, according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure. A visual depiction of a text URL-based 2D code210 is shown on the left of FIG. 2. A visual depiction of a digitalURL-based 2D code 220 is shown on the right of FIG. 2.

At 118, service information is requested by sending a URL decoded fromscanning a URL-based 2D code. Using payment service as an example, auser can make a mobile payment to a merchant by scanning amerchant-presented URL-based 2D code. The user can open a digitalpayment APP 106, such as ALIPAY, installed on a mobile device, log in toa service or payment account associated with the APP 106, and use thescanning function of the APP to scan the code through a camera of themobile device. In some implementations, the mobile device can decode the2D code to a character string in a URL format, which includes one ormore of the data elements as discussed in the description of 116. Themobile device can then send the decoded URL as a character string to theuser side service institution 110. In some implementations, the userside service institution can be a payment institution that providesservice or payment account to APP 106 users.

At 120, the URL is parsed by the user side service institution 110 andat least a portion of the URL is sent to the digital service network112. The URL may include data elements such as a service network ID, aservice institution ID, a version ID, a payload, and a service type ID.The purpose of parsing the URL includes determining whether theURL-based code is issued by the user side service institution 100. Forexample, this can be done by parsing the URL to identify the serviceinstitution ID data element. If the service institution ID matches theID of the user side service institution 110, the user side serviceinstitution 100 can determine that it maintains the correspondingservice information and returns the service information to the mobiledevice. Otherwise, the user side service institution 100 can send atleast a portion of the URL as a data string to the digital servicenetwork 112 based on the service network ID parsed from the URL, toidentify the service institution associated with the service institutionID included in the URL. In some cases, this portion of the URL includesat least a service institution ID, and a service type ID. In someimplementations, the user side service institution 100 can identify theservice institution associated with the service institution ID. In suchcases, the user side service institution can directly request theservice information from the corresponding service institution bysending at least the service type ID and payload to the serviceinstitution.

At 122, the portion of URL is parsed by the digital service network 112and a service type ID and a payload included in the portion of URL issent to an acquiring side service institution 114. The digital servicenetwork 112 parses the received of the URL to determine the serviceinstitution ID, the service type ID, and the payload. The digitalservice network 112 can maintain a list of service institution IDs thatcorrespond to one or more service institutions. The digital servicenetwork 112 can send the service type ID and the payload of the receivedURL to the acquiring side service institution 114 that matches theservice institution ID.

At 124, the requested service information is returned by the acquiringside service institution 114 to the digital service network 112 based onthe service type ID and the payload. The acquiring side serviceinstitution 114 can determine the code type of the URL-based 2D codebased on the service type ID. The code type can determine the serviceinformation to be returned to the mobile device based on the servicetype ID. For example, if the code type is a fund transfer, the serviceinformation to be returned can be order information that includes partyname that the fund will be transferred to, transaction ID, supportedcurrency, etc. If the code type is an order code, the serviceinformation to be returned to the mobile device can include a merchantname the payment will be made to and a payment amount so the user canconfirm the order using the mobile device. If the code type is amerchant code, the service information to be returned to the mobiledevice can include a merchant name so the user can verify and enter apayment amount if the merchant name is correct.

The payload can include an identifier of a service object of the digitalservice network 112. The service object can be an interface that linksto different service information managed and maintained by the acquiringside service institution 114. If the URL data elements sent to theacquiring side service institution 114 further include one or moreparameters, information of one or more add-on services provided by thebackend server of the acquiring side service institution 114 can bereturned. The add-on service can include additional order information,merchant information, sales information, or other information such asone or more loyalty numbers, digital voucher information, couponinformation, lucky drawing information, GPS location, table number, aseat number, or other information.

As can be seen from the above description, the URL decoded from the 2Dcode generated under an STM provides identifiers to locate and returnservice information. The 2D code itself does not carry serviceinformation. Therefore, as compared to RTM 2D code which carries serviceinformation, the STM 2D code is decoupled with service information. Theadvantages of decoupling 2D code from service information can beillustrated in the description of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example 300 of the “stickonce” concept based on an STM, according to an implementation of thepresent disclosure. After a 2D code is issued to a service provider suchas a merchant, the service provider only need to stick the 2D code once320. In case service information associated with the 2D code changes,the 2D code does not need to be replaced. The changes to the serviceinformation can be made by the back office or backend 330, such as theacquiring side service institution 114 or the digital service network112 and link to the service object identified by the identifiersincluded in the payload, as discussed in the description of FIG. 1.After a mobile device 310 scans the 2D code, a URL decoded from the 2Dcode can be used to retrieve the updated service information. In thisexample 300, the 2D code is a merchant code for collecting payment, andthe merchant has changed its merchant information such as the merchantname and supported payment currency, the corresponding merchantinformation can be updated by a payment institution used by themerchant. A mobile device 310 can obtain the updated merchant name andsupported payment currency by scanning the same 2D code. As compared tothe RTM 2D code, because service information is embedded, the RTM 2Dcode needs to be replaced when the service information is updated.Moreover, since the RTM 2D code carries service information, scanningthe RTM 2D code can be slower as compared to scanning an STM 2D code,which does not carry service information.

Various types of service information can be updated by using theURL-based 2D code. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example400 of interoperability of services with URL-based 2D code, according toan implementation of the present disclosure. In this example 400, URLdecoded from scanning a 2D code 410 can be used to initiate servicessuch as dining services 420, payment services 430, IOT information 440,web content 450, APP download 460, or LBS 470. By associating differentservices to the service type ID and service objects identified in theURL, different types of services or service information can be obtainedby the mobile device from scanning the 2D code 410.

Referring again to FIG. 1, at 126, the service information is returnedby the digital service network 112 to the service account provider. At128, a service confirmation page that includes the returned serviceinformation is rendered by the user side service institution 110 andpushed to the APP 106 on the mobile device. In some implementations, theuser side service institution 110 returns the service informationforwarded by the digital service network 112 to the mobile device. TheAPP 106 installed on the mobile device can render the serviceinformation on a service confirmation page.

Using mobile payment as an example, if the service information (forexample, a merchant name) is correct, the user can confirm the serviceinformation or provide input if needed (for example, enter a paymentamount) to initiate a payment request at 130. At 132, the user sideservice institution 110 receives the payment request and debit thecorresponding payment amount from the user's account. At 134, user sideservice institution 110 sends a payment to the digital service network112. At 136, the digital service network 112 forwards the payment to theacquiring side service institution 114. The acquiring side serviceinstitution 114 processes the payment and credits the merchant 108 at138, sends a payment confirmation to the merchant 108 at 140 a and tothe digital service network 112 at 140 b. The digital service networkforwards the payment confirmation to the user side service institution110 at 142 and the user side service institution 110 forwards thepayment confirmation to the APP 106 or renders a payment confirmationpage and pushes to the APP 106.

During the service processing workflow, direct information exchangebetween the APP 106 and the acquiring side 104 is relatively limited. Amajority of the information is exchanged at the backend between the userside service institution 110, digital service network 112 and acquiringside service institution 114. The information exchange environment hashigh credibility, and data security between the parties can be betterprotected.

FIG. 5 is a swim-lane diagram illustrating an example of a 2D codebinding procedure 500, according to an implementation of the presentdisclosure. The code binding process can be used to quickly generate abatch of regional unified 2D codes.

At 514, a service system I 508 generates a batch of vacant codes andsend to a code platform 506. The vacant codes can be URL-based STM 2Dcodes as discussed in the description of FIG. 1. The 2D codes are vacantbecause the embedded URLs are not associated with any serviceinformation. In some implementations, the service system I 508 can be anacquiring side service institution 114 as discussed in the descriptionof FIG. 1. In some implementations, the service system I 508 may collectmerchant information such as the number of merchants to be served todetermine the number of vacant codes to be generated. The code platform506 can be part of the service system I 508 or independent from theservice system I 508.

At 516, the service system I 508 sends the batch of vacant codes to amaterial platform 512 for printing and sending back to the servicesystem I 508. The material platform 512 can be part of the serviceinstitution or independent from the service system I 508.

At 518, merchants 502 served by the service system I 508 scan the batchof vacant codes to submit merchant information to be bound to the vacantcodes. Merchant information can include service information as discussedin the description of FIG. 1. By sending merchant information to thecode platform, the code platform can bind corresponding service type andservice object identified in the URL of the vacant code to the merchantinformation.

At 520, code platform 506 binds the merchant information to the batch ofvacant codes. After binding, the URL-based 2D code is no longer vacant,but associated with corresponding merchant information. The servicesystem I 508 can then distribute the printed codes to the correspondingmerchants 502 it serves.

At 522, a user scans a URL-based 2D code presented by a merchant 502 toinitiate corresponding service processing. At 524, the serviceprocessing can be proceeded to a service institution II 510 such as theuser side service institution 110 discussed in the description of FIG.1. The remaining service processing can be performed based on theexample workflow 100 as discussed in the description of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flow illustrating an example of a method 600 of processingservices based on URL-based 2D code, according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure. For clarity of presentation, the descriptionthat follows generally describes method 600 in the context of the otherfigures in this description. However, it will be understood that method600 can be performed, for example, by any system, environment, software,and hardware, or a combination of systems, environments, software, andhardware, as appropriate. In some implementations, various steps ofmethod 600 can be run in parallel, in combination, in loops, or in anyorder.

At 602, a URL from a first service institution is received, wherein theURL is obtained and sent by a mobile device from scanning a 2D codeprovided by a service provider. The method 600 can be performed by adigital service network 112 that connects and serves one or more serviceinstitutions as discussed in the description of FIG. 1. The firstservice institution can be a user side service institution 110. The 2Dcode can be a URL-based 2D code such as a regional unifiedmerchant-presented QR code generated based on STM. The 2D code can bepresented by a service provider (for example, a merchant) to initiate aservice (for example, payment service). A user can open an APPassociated with a user account to scan the 2D code. A URL can beobtained from scanning the 2D code and sent to the service institutionthat provides the user account. The service institution can parse theURL to identify a network ID and send at least a portion of the URL tothe digital service network corresponding to the network ID. From 602,method 600 proceeds to 604.

At 604, the URL is parsed to identify one or more data elements, whereinthe one or more data elements include a service network ID, a serviceinstitution ID that identifies a second service institution that issuesthe 2D code, and a payload that includes an identifier identifying aservice object of the service network. In some implementations, the oneor more data elements further include at least one of a domain name, aversion number of the service network, a service type ID that identifiesa service type, or one or more key-value pairs that identify one or moreadd-ons to a service to be processed. The one or more data elementsincluded in the URL can be either in a digital format or a text format.The one or more add-ons to the service to be processed includes at leastone of a loyalty number, voucher information, coupon information, luckydrawing information, a global positioning system (GPS) location, a tablenumber, or a seat number. From 604, method 600 proceeds to 606.

At 606, the one or more data elements are sent to the second serviceinstitution based on the service institution ID. The second serviceinstitution can be the acquiring side service institution 114 thatissues the URL-based 2D code as discussed in the description of FIG. 1.From 606, method 600 proceeds to 608.

At 608, service information associated with the service object from thesecond service institution is received. In some implementations, theservice information includes at least one of service providerinformation or order information. Example service provider informationincludes a service provider name, a service provider type, a countrycode, a zip code, a service provider address, order information, one ormore supported languages, or one or more supported currencies. Exampleorder information includes a transaction amount, a transaction currency,an order identifier, or an order description. From 608, method 600proceeds to 610.

At 610, the service information is sent to the first service institutionto be presented on the mobile device. In some implementations, after theuser of the mobile device verifies the service information, it can senda service request to initiate a service. In such cases, a servicerequest can be received by the digital service network from the firstservice institution. The digital service network can then send theservice request to the second service institution for processing theservice. After processing, a service processing result is received fromthe second service institution. The digital service network can thensend the service processing result to the first service institution tobe presented on the mobile device. After 620, method 600 stops.

Implementations of the subject matter described in this specificationcan be implemented so as to realize particular advantages or technicaleffects. For example, since majority of service information can bemanaged and maintained at the backend, when service information needs tobe updated, the service provider may not need to request and re-deploy anew 2D code as under the RTM scenario. The update can sometimes be madeat the backend to reduce deployment and material cost. The URL decodedfrom the 2D code generated under an STM provides identifiers to locateand return service information. The 2D code itself does not carryservice information. Therefore, the STM 2D code is decoupled from itsunderlying services. The STM can also allow a batch of URL-based 2Dcodes to be quickly generated.

The described methodology permits enhancement of various mobilecomputing device processing efficiency and data security. Because arelatively small amount of information is encoded in the 2D code basedon STM, majority of service information collection can be delegated tothe backend server, the data interaction between a mobile device and the2D code is faster and the data security is higher due to lessinformation exposure at the frontend. As such, the information exchangeenvironment has high credibility, and data security between the partiescan be better protected.

The described methodology can ensure the efficient usage of computerresources (for example, processing cycles, network bandwidth, and memoryusage), through the efficient scanning, generation of 2D codes, andreducing the amount of 2D codes regeneration. At least these actions canminimize or prevent waste of available computer resources in a mobileInternet service environment. Instead of replacing existing 2D codeswhen service information is updated, the 2D codes can be kept the sameby associating them with updated service information.

Implementations and the operations described in this specification canbe implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software,firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification or in combinations of one or more of them. The operationscan be implemented as operations performed by a data processingapparatus on data stored on one or more computer-readable storagedevices or received from other sources. A data processing apparatus,computer, or computing device may encompass apparatus, devices, andmachines for processing data, including by way of example a programmableprocessor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multiple ones, orcombinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can include specialpurpose logic circuitry, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). The apparatus can also include code thatcreates an execution environment for the computer program in question,for example, code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack,a database management system, an operating system (for example anoperating system or a combination of operating systems), across-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combinationof one or more of them. The apparatus and execution environment canrealize various different computing model infrastructures, such as webservices, distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known, for example, as a program, software,software application, software module, software unit, script, or code)can be written in any form of programming language, including compiledor interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and itcan be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as amodule, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use ina computing environment. A program can be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (for example, one or more scriptsstored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to theprogram in question, or in multiple coordinated files (for example,files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions ofcode). A computer program can be executed on one computer or on multiplecomputers that are located at one site or distributed across multiplesites and interconnected by a communication network.

Processors for execution of a computer program include, by way ofexample, both general- and special-purpose microprocessors, and any oneor more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random-access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data. A computer can be embedded in another device, for example,a mobile device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game console, aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including, by wayof example, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic disks, andmagneto-optical disks. The processor and the memory can be supplementedby, or incorporated in, special-purpose logic circuitry.

Mobile devices can include handsets, user equipment (UE), mobiletelephones (for example, smartphones), tablets, wearable devices (forexample, smart watches and smart eyeglasses), implanted devices withinthe human body (for example, biosensors, cochlear implants), or othertypes of mobile devices. The mobile devices can communicate wirelessly(for example, using radio frequency (RF) signals) to variouscommunication networks (described below). The mobile devices can includesensors for determining characteristics of the mobile device's currentenvironment. The sensors can include cameras, microphones, proximitysensors, GPS sensors, motion sensors, accelerometers, ambient lightsensors, moisture sensors, gyroscopes, compasses, barometers,fingerprint sensors, facial recognition systems, RF sensors (forexample, Wi-Fi and cellular radios), thermal sensors, or other types ofsensors. For example, the cameras can include a forward- or rear-facingcamera with movable or fixed lenses, a flash, an image sensor, and animage processor. The camera can be a megapixel camera capable ofcapturing details for facial and/or iris recognition. The camera alongwith a data processor and authentication information stored in memory oraccessed remotely can form a facial recognition system. The facialrecognition system or one-or-more sensors, for example, microphones,motion sensors, accelerometers, GPS sensors, or RF sensors, can be usedfor user authentication.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments can be implementedon a computer having a display device and an input device, for example,a liquid crystal display (LCD) or organic light-emitting diode(OLED)/virtual-reality (VR)/augmented-reality (AR) display fordisplaying information to the user and a touchscreen, keyboard, and apointing device by which the user can provide input to the computer.Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with auser as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any formof sensory feedback, for example, visual feedback, auditory feedback, ortactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form,including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a computercan interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documentsfrom a device that is used by the user; for example, by sending webpages to a web browser on a user's client device in response to requestsreceived from the web browser.

Embodiments can be implemented using computing devices interconnected byany form or medium of wireline or wireless digital data communication(or combination thereof), for example, a communication network. Examplesof interconnected devices are a client and a server generally remotefrom each other that typically interact through a communication network.A client, for example, a mobile device, can carry out transactionsitself, with a server, or through a server, for example, performing buy,sell, pay, give, send, or loan transactions, or authorizing the same.Such transactions may be in real time such that an action and a responseare temporally proximate; for example an individual perceives the actionand the response occurring substantially simultaneously, the timedifference for a response following the individual's action is less than1 millisecond (ms) or less than 1 second (s), or the response is withoutintentional delay taking into account processing limitations of thesystem.

Examples of communication networks include a local area network (LAN), aradio access network (RAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and awide area network (WAN). The communication network can include all or aportion of the Internet, another communication network, or a combinationof communication networks. Information can be transmitted on thecommunication network according to various protocols and standards,including Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, IEEE 802, Internet Protocol(IP), or other protocols or combinations of protocols. The communicationnetwork can transmit voice, video, biometric, or authentication data, orother information between the connected computing devices.

Features described as separate implementations may be implemented, incombination, in a single implementation, while features described as asingle implementation may be implemented in multiple implementations,separately, or in any suitable sub-combination. Operations described andclaimed in a particular order should not be understood as requiring thatthe particular order, nor that all illustrated operations must beperformed (some operations can be optional). As appropriate,multitasking or parallel-processing (or a combination of multitaskingand parallel-processing) can be performed.

Embodiments and the operations described in this specification can beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software,firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification or in combinations of one or more of them. The operationscan be implemented as operations performed by a data processingapparatus on data stored on one or more computer-readable storagedevices or received from other sources. A data processing apparatus,computer, or computing device may encompass apparatus, devices, andmachines for processing data, including by way of example a programmableprocessor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multiple ones, orcombinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can include specialpurpose logic circuitry, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). The apparatus can also include code thatcreates an execution environment for the computer program in question,for example, code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack,a database management system, an operating system (for example anoperating system or a combination of operating systems), across-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combinationof one or more of them. The apparatus and execution environment canrealize various different computing model infrastructures, such as webservices, distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known, for example, as a program, software,software application, software module, software unit, script, or code)can be written in any form of programming language, including compiledor interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and itcan be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as amodule, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use ina computing environment. A program can be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (for example, one or more scriptsstored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to theprogram in question, or in multiple coordinated files (for example,files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions ofcode). A computer program can be executed on one computer or on multiplecomputers that are located at one site or distributed across multiplesites and interconnected by a communication network.

Processors for execution of a computer program include, by way ofexample, both general- and special-purpose microprocessors, and any oneor more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random-access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data. A computer can be embedded in another device, for example,a mobile device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game console, aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including, by wayof example, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic disks, andmagneto-optical disks. The processor and the memory can be supplementedby, or incorporated in, special-purpose logic circuitry.

Mobile devices can include handsets, user equipment (UE), mobiletelephones (for example, smartphones), tablets, wearable devices (forexample, smart watches and smart eyeglasses), implanted devices withinthe human body (for example, biosensors, cochlear implants), or othertypes of mobile devices. The mobile devices can communicate wirelessly(for example, using radio frequency (RF) signals) to variouscommunication networks (described below). The mobile devices can includesensors for determining characteristics of the mobile device's currentenvironment. The sensors can include cameras, microphones, proximitysensors, GPS sensors, motion sensors, accelerometers, ambient lightsensors, moisture sensors, gyroscopes, compasses, barometers,fingerprint sensors, facial recognition systems, RF sensors (forexample, Wi-Fi and cellular radios), thermal sensors, or other types ofsensors. For example, the cameras can include a forward- or rear-facingcamera with movable or fixed lenses, a flash, an image sensor, and animage processor. The camera can be a megapixel camera capable ofcapturing details for facial and/or iris recognition. The camera alongwith a data processor and authentication information stored in memory oraccessed remotely can form a facial recognition system. The facialrecognition system or one-or-more sensors, for example, microphones,motion sensors, accelerometers, GPS sensors, or RF sensors, can be usedfor user authentication.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments can be implementedon a computer having a display device and an input device, for example,a liquid crystal display (LCD) or organic light-emitting diode(OLED)/virtual-reality (VR)/augmented-reality (AR) display fordisplaying information to the user and a touchscreen, keyboard, and apointing device by which the user can provide input to the computer.Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with auser as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any formof sensory feedback, for example, visual feedback, auditory feedback, ortactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form,including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a computercan interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documentsfrom a device that is used by the user; for example, by sending webpages to a web browser on a user's client device in response to requestsreceived from the web browser.

Embodiments can be implemented using computing devices interconnected byany form or medium of wireline or wireless digital data communication(or combination thereof), for example, a communication network. Examplesof interconnected devices are a client and a server generally remotefrom each other that typically interact through a communication network.A client, for example, a mobile device, can carry out transactionsitself, with a server, or through a server, for example, performing buy,sell, pay, give, send, or loan transactions, or authorizing the same.Such transactions may be in real time such that an action and a responseare temporally proximate; for example an individual perceives the actionand the response occurring substantially simultaneously, the timedifference for a response following the individual's action is less than1 millisecond (ms) or less than 1 second (s), or the response is withoutintentional delay taking into account processing limitations of thesystem.

Examples of communication networks include a local area network (LAN), aradio access network (RAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and awide area network (WAN). The communication network can include all or aportion of the Internet, another communication network, or a combinationof communication networks. Information can be transmitted on thecommunication network according to various protocols and standards,including Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, IEEE 802, Internet Protocol(IP), or other protocols or combinations of protocols. The communicationnetwork can transmit voice, video, biometric, or authentication data, orother information between the connected computing devices.

Features described as separate implementations may be implemented, incombination, in a single implementation, while features described as asingle implementation may be implemented in multiple implementations,separately, or in any suitable sub-combination. Operations described andclaimed in a particular order should not be understood as requiring thatthe particular order, nor that all illustrated operations must beperformed (some operations can be optional). As appropriate,multitasking or parallel-processing (or a combination of multitaskingand parallel-processing) can be performed.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:receiving, based upon a uniform resource locator (URL) that is encodedin a a two-dimensional (2D) code by a second service institution, arequest for service information, wherein the URL is sent by a mobiledevice and is obtained by the mobile device from scanning the 2D codewhen the 2D code is provided by a service provider; parsing the URL toidentify one or more data elements including a service networkidentifier corresponding to a service network, a service institutionidentifier corresponding to the second service institution that encodedthe URL in the 2D code, a service type identifier corresponding to aservice type, or a payload including a service object identifiercorresponding to a service object of the service network; sending theone or more data elements to the second service institution based on theservice institution identifier; receiving, by a first serviceinstitution, the service information associated with the service objectand the service type from the second service institution based on theservice object identifier and the service type identifier; and sendingthe service information from the first service institution forpresenting on the mobile device.
 2. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a service request from the firstservice institution if the service information matches the serviceprovider that provides the 2D code; and sending the service request tothe second service institution for processing a service.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprises: receiving aservice processing result from the second service institution aftersending the service request; and sending the service processing resultto the first service institution.
 4. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more data elements further include at leastone of a domain name, a version number of the service network, a servicetype identifier that identifies a service type, or one or more key-valuepairs that identify one or more add-ons to a service to be processed. 5.The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the one or more dataelements are in digital format or text format.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the one or more add-onsto the service to be processed includes at least one of a loyaltynumber, voucher information, coupon information, lucky drawinginformation, a global positioning system (GPS) location, a table number,or a seat number.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinthe service information includes at least one of service providerinformation or order information.
 8. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 7, wherein the service provider information includes at least oneof a service provider name, a service provider type, a country code, azip code, a service provider address, order information, one or moresupported languages, or one or more supported currencies; and whereinthe order information includes at least one of a transaction amount, atransaction currency, an order identifier, or an order description. 9.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the 2D code is aregional unified merchant-presented quick response (QR) code generatedbased on a slim terminal model.
 10. A non-transitory, computer-readablemedium storing one or more instructions executable by a computer systemto perform operations comprising: receiving, based upon a uniformresource locator (URL) that is encoded in a a two-dimensional (2D) codeby a second service institution, a request for service information,wherein the URL is sent by a mobile device and is obtained by the mobiledevice from scanning the 2D code when the 2D code is provided by aservice provider; parsing the URL to identify one or more data elementsincluding a service network identifier corresponding to a servicenetwork, a service institution identifier corresponding to the secondservice institution that encoded the URL in the 2D code, a service typeidentifier corresponding to a service type, or a payload including aservice object identifier corresponding to a service object of theservice network; sending the one or more data elements to the secondservice institution based on the service institution identifier;receiving, by a first service institution, the service informationassociated with the service object and the service type from the secondservice institution based on the service object identifier and theservice type identifier; and sending the service information from thefirst service institution for presenting on the mobile device.
 11. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the one ormore data elements further include at least one of a domain name, aversion number of the service network, a service type identifier thatidentifies a service type, or one or more key-value pairs that identifyone or more add-ons to a service to be processed.
 12. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the one ormore data elements are in digital format or text format.
 13. Thenon-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the one ormore add-ons to the service to be processed includes at least one of aloyalty number, voucher information, coupon information, lucky drawinginformation, a global positioning system (GPS) location, a table number,or a seat number.
 14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium ofclaim 10, wherein the service information includes at least one ofservice provider information or order information; wherein the serviceprovider information includes at least one of a service provider name, aservice provider type, a country code, a zip code, a service provideraddress, order information, one or more supported languages, or one ormore supported currencies; and wherein the order information includes atleast one of a transaction amount, a transaction currency, an orderidentifier, or an order description.
 15. The non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the 2D code is a regionalunified merchant-presented quick response (QR) code generated based on aslim terminal model.
 16. A computer-implemented system, comprising: oneor more computers; and one or more computer memory devices interoperablycoupled with the one or more computers and having tangible,non-transitory, machine-readable media storing one or more instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more computers, perform one or moreoperations comprising: receiving, based upon a uniform resource locator(URL) that is encoded in a a two-dimensional (2D) code by a secondservice institution, a request for service information, wherein the URLis sent by a mobile device and is obtained by the mobile device fromscanning the 2D code when the 2D code is provided by a service provider;parsing the URL to identify one or more data elements including aservice network identifier corresponding to a service network, a serviceinstitution identifier corresponding to the second service institutionthat encoded the URL in the 2D code, a service type identifiercorresponding to a service type, or a payload including a service objectidentifier corresponding to a service object of the service network;sending the one or more data elements to the second service institutionbased on the service institution identifier; receiving, by a firstservice institution, the service information associated with the serviceobject and the service type from the second service institution based onthe service object identifier and the service type identifier; andsending the service information from the first service institution forpresenting on the mobile device.
 17. The computer-implemented system ofclaim 16, wherein the one or more data elements further include at leastone of a domain name, a version number of the service network, a servicetype identifier that identifies a service type, or one or more key-valuepairs that identify one or more add-ons to a service to be processed.18. The computer-implemented system of claim 16, wherein the one or moredata elements are in digital format or text format.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented system of claim 16, wherein the service informationincludes at least one of service provider information or orderinformation; wherein the service provider information includes at leastone of a service provider name, a service provider type, a country code,a zip code, a service provider address, order information, one or moresupported languages, or one or more supported currencies; and whereinthe order information includes at least one of a transaction amount, atransaction currency, an order identifier, or an order description. 20.The computer-implemented system of claim 16, wherein the 2D code is aregional unified merchant-presented quick response (QR) code generatedbased on a slim terminal model.